black widow spider

Black Widow Spider Physical Characteristics

color

• Brown
• yellow
• Red
• Black

skin type

shell

"Only the bite of the female black widow spider is dangerous"

They have a fierce reputation, but in reality, black widow spiders (aka Latrodectus ) are calm, solitary pacifists who only release their venom when all other defenses have been exhausted. The notorious arachnid, with 32 species found on every continent except Antarctica, may have burst onto the world stage about 300 million years ago.

Female black widows carry large amounts of venom, while males do not. Although it is widely believed that all females eat their mates after reproduction, this behavior is rare and only occurs in laboratory settings from which there is no escape.

Incredible Black Widow Spider Facts!

• Black Widow webs are stronger than steel! Scientists are actively studying spider silks, hoping to replicate them in infrastructure projects like bridges!
• At first glance, spiders in the genus Steatoda resemble widow spiders, which is why they have earned the nickname "pseudo-widow spiders." Bites from Steatoda are not pleasant, but they are not as damaging as black widow bites.
• Latrodectus tredecimguttatus is the deadliest of all 32 widow species.
• Black widow spiders don't live very long. Males usually die within a few months, with only a few lucky females making it to three years of age.

You can check out more incredible facts about black widow spiders.

scientific name

Latrodectus is the scientific name for the widow spider. A portmanteau of the Neo-Latin word "latro" ("thief") and the Ancient Greek word "dēktēs" ("biter"), coined in the early 1800s by the French nobleman Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer. Colloquially, the name translates to "biting robber".

type

The genus "True Widow" has 34 recognized species. In North America, three species— Latrodectus mactans, Latrodectus hesperus, and Latrodectus variolus— are informally known as the southern black widow, western black widow, and northern black widow, respectively. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus is the European black widow; Latrodectus hassseltii is found throughout Australia and is known as the red-backed black widow; and in South America, two species of spiders—Latrodectus corallinus and Latrodectus curacaviensis— are commonly referred to as South American black widow spiders.

evolution and classification

Black widows are a class of arachnid spiders known for having interdigitated chelicerae. Within this large collective, they also belong to the subgroup of Arachnididae, also known as tangled-web spiders, known for making webs to hunt prey and for the setae on the seventh segment of the hind legs that serve as tarsals.

As members of the genus Latrodectus, they are known as true widows and are related to their European and South American counterparts, brown widows, red widows, Australian redback spiders, and others.

These arachnids also have the ability to produce a neurotoxic venom called latrotoxin, which is thought to be particularly potent, which in turn causes latrodectism.

appearance and behavior

Almost all black widow spiders are about 1.5 inches long, weigh about 0.035 ounces, and have dark, hourglass-shaped bodies with white, brown, or red markings. Like most web-spinning spiders, widows have poor eyesight and rely on vibrations to sense prey and danger.

Unlike the world's largest spider, the Goliath bird-eater (Theraphosa blondi) , the black widow is tiny — about the size of a paper clip. But don't let their compact size fool you—for widows carry dangerous burdens! Their bite releases a neurotoxin called latratoxin, which causes excruciating pain, muscle stiffness, vomiting and profuse sweating. People bitten by a black widow spider may experience these symptoms for up to a week. But the notion that widow bites are usually fatal is false. However, they do kill cats and dogs.

Only females are harmful; males do not have sufficient quantities of venom to cause significant damage.

Widow spiders are notorious for female cannibalism – meaning that the female spider eats the male spider after mating. But what people may not understand is that this doesn't happen very often, and not all species engage in the practice.

So why do some Latrodectus ladies murder their mates? No one knows for sure, but one popular theory postulates that the behavior increases the offspring's odds of survival. In addition, males can sense when females are full thanks to special chemicals emitted from the web after a meal, and most will not choose a mate who is hungry. In fact, most males who become mate prey are trapped in a laboratory setting with no escape.

Habitat

Widow spiders crawl on every continent except Antarctica. They are especially plentiful in North America, especially in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada's wine country.

Typically, black widow spiders build their webs near the ground or in dark, low places. Inside, you'll likely find them in dark corners under desks, in basements, and attics. Outside, they hide in holes and stakes.

diet

What Do Black Widow Spiders Eat? They prey on small insects such as flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars. In their environment, you'd think they were top predators.

How do black widows catch food? Like most other spider species, black widow spiders weave sticky, silky webs. Widow spiders hang upside down in the middle of their webs as they wait for food to enter their nests. When victims crash, they are incapacitated by the stickiness of the network. At that point, the spider pulls back, paralyzing the prey with venom, then wraps its meal in silk to further prevent escape.

When the black widow is ready to eat, it coats its prey with caustic digestive juices, then gobbles up the remains. If the widow senses danger, it will quickly climb down the loose netting wire and flee to safety.

Predators and Threats

Few animals prey on black widow spiders because of the insect's size and markings, and scientists believe the unpleasant signals the insects send repel most animals.

But there are exceptions to the rule, and in this case, the three animals are the praying mantid (Mantodea) , alligator lizard (Anguidae) and blue mud wasp (Chalybion californicum), which paralyze with their stingers before swallowing.

Humans also pose a threat to black widow spiders, as we accidentally crush them and kill them on purpose when we stumble upon this species in our homes.

Reproduction, Babies and Longevity

Widow spiders are solitary creatures that only come together during mating season in late spring. In an annual ritual, the male and female pair up, with the former injecting sperm into the latter. The ladies then fertilize the eggs internally and lay silky oocysts.

The sacs hatch for about 30 days, at which point a self-sufficient colony of mites hatch. Once the baby spider is born, it leaves the nest in a hurry. The wind often helps them on their way, and most find themselves far from home within hours of birth.

But the life of the black widow is not long. Many die before the full moon, and very few—mostly women—live past the age of three.

population

Black widow spiders are not currently in danger. The International Union for Conservation of Nature doesn't even have the animal on its Red List. IUCN does list false widow spiders, but only under the Data Deficiency section.

U.S. Zoo Availability

Black widow spiders live in hundreds of exhibits and laboratories around the world. Here is a partial list of U.S. zoos that care for individuals of this genus:

1. st louis zoo
2. Auckland Zoo
3. San Francisco Zoo and Gardens
4. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
5. navajo zoo

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